Philadelphia Science Festival

For ten days, Philadelphia's schools, universities, cultural institutions and research centers will again come together to put science in the spotlight for the 2nd Annual Philadelphia Science Festival.  The best event to attend? Check out this link to  The Science Carnival being held this coming Saturday on the Ben Franklin Parkway.  There will be over 100 family friendly experiments and interactive exhibits to enjoy!

Caring For Our Vegetable Plants

We decided to place our vegetable plant containers against the fence near the Kindergarten flower garden because we thought that this area would get a good amount of sun everyday. Luckily the hose reaches across the playground and the children can actively participate in the watering and care of the plants. We have ten containers of vegetables to care for; we planted two containers of each of the following vegetable plants: carrots, parsley, beans, spinach, lettuce. The transformation of the vegetable seeds that we planted a few weeks ago to recognizable plants is quite magical! The children had been engaged in the process of planting the seeds and now bringing the plants back to school to nurture would open the doors to many new and interesting learning experiences.

There are so many parts of our curriculum that this exploration supports in such a meaningful ways. On a daily basis, the children will be practicing observational skills, literacy skills, mathematical concepts, cooperation skills and scientific concepts. Recording information about the plants at the very early stages of growth seemed like a perfect place to begin our work in both mathematical concepts and observation skills. This was a perfect opportunity to introduce the concept and language associated with measurement. We first looked at the different plants and decided to take photographs of the individual containers to visually record what they looked like.

We realized that they will change and we wanted to be sure to remember what they looked like. At this point , we talked about other ways that we could record and measure the growth of the different vegetable plants. The children were excited to compare the different heights of the plants and we talked about ways that we could record that information. We decided to measure the plants and introduced the ruler. After we measured each plant , we place a red clothespin at the spot on the ruler. We decided that we would check our plants each week and record our observations. We briefly talked about ways that we could record this information and our team decided to introduce graphing over the next several weeks..

Russell Garden Center Slideshow

Our trip to Russell Garden Center was fantastic! We had an amazing time touring the garden center, learning about the different equipment that is used at the garden for planting and transplanting, transplanting our vegetable plants that we planted several weeks ago, working on an art project and having lunch together! The day was filled with exploration and discovery! Enjoy the slideshow which we hope captures the day! We will have future blog entries that describe different aspects of this day in depth , but wanted to share a slideshow as soon as possible for you to enjoy with your child.

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Exploring Jackson Pollock

Sam introduced the artist Jackson Pollock in art class this week. The children first looked at an enlarged painting by the artist on the smart board and looked at the artist's techniques and style. We learned that Jackson Pollock would often first draw a shape or design on his canvas before he added paint. His art technique always involved movement and he especially loved to paint on canvas pieces that were quite large. He usually placed his canvas sheets on the floor and worked over several days and weeks on one painting. He would wait until the paint on his canvas would dry, before adding another layer.

The children had the hands on experience of creating art in the style of Jackson Pollock. They first drew a shape or design on paper and after they were satisfied with their drawing, they moved to the painting station where they used marbles or tennis balls to paint . The children learned the technique of rolling the balls that were dipped in paint in various direction across their papers. This process was fascinating to explore in that the children were able to experience changes in color, design and image each time they rolled the marbles or tennis balls over their paintings.

Spring Poem In Music Class

The children were so excited to incorporate movement, poetry and music together in music class this week! Jason introduced a lovely spring poem which the children then were able to act out the different parts. Having the beautiful open music room space was a wonderful invitation for the children to explore creative movement and drama. The simplicity of the poem was so perfect for this age group and the children loved learning and reciting the verses as they acted out the words. Adding scarves and music is always so much fun as well!

Talia's Mom Visits PreK

Tamika, Talia mom, visited with our class today to share a spring story and craft activity with us. Tamika read The Reason For A Flower by Ruth Heller. Through this beautifully illustrated book the author combines fun, fact and even a few surprises about all kinds of flowers and seeds and takes an insightful look as well as where animals fit in- including animals that eat plants and the plants that eat animals!

Tamika showed us how to make flowers out of tissue paper. The children loved turning spring colors of tissue paper into beautiful flowers! We even sprayed them with perfume to smell pretty like real flowers!

Talia loved sharing her family with her school friends and we so appreciated having this warm connection.

Enjoy our slideshow that captures the fun morning !

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Welcome Back...

The children were so happy to return to school today after Spring break! As soon as the children entered the classroom, conversations were started and the children were engaged in play with each other. Imaginative, cooperative play was observed in the block area all morning long! A small group built an airplane in the block area and the children were engaged in play that stemmed from travel and airports. Another group built a television and pretended to be news people who reported the news and the weather! Still another group built 'kitty cages' and they turned into kittys themselves after they built the cages! The play in all of these areas reflected collaboration and cooperation and maturity. The shift in this play involves social and emotional maturation where the children are able to hear another child's point of view, take turns, and role play. It is the through these tiny windows of our children's lives that we gain so much insight into their growth and development.

Happy Spring and Welcome Back to PreK!